La Cucina di Kat: Peameal Bacon

Forget about anything you’ve seen or heard about Canadian bacon. What you see in your grocery store cooler next to the Oscar Myer hot-dogs, labeled as Canadian “Back Bacon” is rarely used in Canada.

Peameal bacon is cured in a sweet pickle brine and is not smoked. It’s made from loins weighing about 12lbs that are trimmed of all the fat with the bones removed. It’s less salty than regular bacon and has a touch of sweetness. In the olden days they used to roll it in a mixture of ground yellow peas. This helped the curing process and extended shelf life. These day’s it is coated with cornmeal. It’s delicious!

What does it taste like?

It’s really hard to describe as it has a taste all of it’s own. It has a little tanginess, saltiness, a touch of sweetness and it’s very tender and juicy. You can cut it with a fork, but yet it has a texture of a lightly cooked thin breast of chicken or veal.

It’s great for breakfast with eggs or used for the bacon called for in Eggs-Benedict. My favorite is a Bacon and tomato sandwich but many people also go for a the entire roast and that’s a dining experience in itself.

And not only is this tasty, it has some healthy factors also. Compared to regular strip Bacon, there's quite a difference in the fat/sodium and calorie content:

Having grown up on Peameal bacon in Canada I really miss it. Friends have brought it down to Florida for me but there's also a few places that have caught on to how good this is and now import and ship it all over the US. I buy mine, usually about 10lbs at a time from an importer in Michigan. It comes 2 day delivery, in an insulated cooler and is usually still frozen. It defrosts quickly and keeps well for several months in the freezer.

All I can say is...this is the BEST! If you can find it - you will LOVE it!